


Coraline 🗝

by remycapsule



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Dark Magic, F/F, Fiction, Mystery, the title is pretty much what the story is lol, yerim is brunette
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25595197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remycapsule/pseuds/remycapsule
Summary: Yeojin befriends some neighbors after moving to a new apartment with Haseul. Along the way, she discovers a small, hidden door in their living room. Little did Yeojin know, an alternate universe and many secrets waited for her on the other side...
Relationships: Choi Yerim | Choerry/Im Yeojin, Jo Haseul/Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul, Kim Jiwoo | Chuu/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. Characters

The characters: 

**Yeojin**

A free-spirited, outgoing girl who becomes bitter because she has to move away from her hometown to another. Though despite this, Yeojin eventually adapts sooner than expected. She's brave and willing to face any hardships standing in her way.

**Yerim**

A neighbor who lives across from Yeojin's apartment complex. She is kind and caring, willing to go out of her way for loved ones. As a grade A student and baseball player, she's also very hardworking. On the other hand, Yerim has some secrets that can't be revealed...yet.

**The Cat**

She occasionally wanders around Yeojin's apartment complex and often sits by her window. The cat is very fond of Yerim, often walking with her whenever she goes to visit Yeojin. But oddly enough, she's always on alert and Yeojin has yet to find out why.

**Haseul**

She is Yeojin's older sister, though acts like their mother. She's very protective and caring of Yeojin, doing her best to help her adjust to their new home. She recently got promoted in work, which is why they had to move.

**Jinsol**

Yerim's nerdy older sister who's constantly working at home and on her computer 24/7. She tries to spend as much time with her little sisters, but it's difficult with the workload she deals with. And because of this, Jinsoul is dangerously oblivious to untold secrets.

**Kim Lip and Chuu, aka, Jungeun and Jiwoo**

They're Yeojin's neighbors and live down in the lower level of the apartment complex. They are also a loving couple, despite arguing numerous times, and part of the local cirus where they sing and/or do acrobatic stunts for their acts.

**Sooyoung**

She is a gymnastics master and apart of the circus with Jungeun and Jiwoo. Sooyoung mostly hosts their shows because she's the most talented in their team. Aside from this, she's weird, but funny and Yeojin and Yerim often laugh at her cracking joints. 

**Other Haseul**

She is Yeojin's "ideal older sister" as she's more cheery, enthusiastic and fun to be around with. From deliciously cooked meals to presents, she strives to be the best for Yeojin and stay on her good side... _always_ her good side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that we have all of the characters, let's begin >:3


	2. Moving

Grey clouds covered the sky as rain poured heavily, with thunder rumbling every once in a while. Haseul carefully navigated through the streets as safely as possible, aside from nearly running over a trash bin. Yeojin sat right next to her and mindlessly stared outside the window, even though it was ridden with droplets, making it hard to see outside. She hadn't been enthusiastic since Haseul dropped the news of them having to move away from their hometown. Yeojin obviously didn't take it well because she had many plans with her friends while still living there, and now it was all for nothing as they got further away from their old house, their childhood. Haseul was hoping to make it up to her little sister as soon as possible, but with the sorrow mood, she didn't want to unintentionally make things worse for Yeojin. She'd tried telling her that the new job will pay much more and they'll have a better living, but the younger girl wasn't having it at all. Yeojin was stubborn enough by clinging onto their old fence, promptly forcing Haseul to yank and carry her away. This reminded her of how it's been difficult to admit that Yeojin was in fact a high schooler, even though she acts like a spoiled child. In numerous instances, people have asked Haseul if she was her kid and the answer never changed. Sure they looked alike, but there was no way Haseul would raise a child to grow up like Yeojin. 

Aside from that, they were nearing their new house, according to the GPS. Thunders began rumbling more as rain got heavier. They both started noticing more buildings, stores, cars and people around them. Haseul sighed in relief, slightly proud of herself since she managed to follow the moving truck that was carrying all of their furniture. Yeojin still had no idea why her sister even needed the GPS in the first place, but she was too tired to even speak. At this point, nothing sounded better than sleeping in a cozy bed, especially during this weather. Soon enough, they were finally led into an area where the apartment complex was visible. Yeojin bent down slightly to gaze at it, staring in awe. Haseul noticed this and wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or not. 

After parking in front of the entrance, the older grabbed her umbrella before exiting first and slightly smiled while beholding it's magnificent structure. The architect reminded Haseul of some old fashioned design back in the early centuries, but she didn't mind it. The workers driving the truck that she'd been following quickly got to work unloading their furniture, starting with beds. Meanwhile, Yeojin was hesitant to get out of the car, a deep side of her wanting to steal Haseul's and drive all the way back to their old house. Obviously, that wasn't going to happen since the passenger door suddenly opened. 

"Come on, Yeojin. Let's unpack our stuff." 

She silently groaned before unbuckling her seat belt and doing as told. The whole time, Yeojin's mind went to auto-mode, emotionlessly carrying boxes, bags, suitcases, etc. into their new house. And just like the outside, it was as ancient on the inside. Random portraits and various pictures were already hung on the wall as Yeojin arched an eyebrow, questioning whether or not she should take them down. She moved all of her belongings upstairs, though leaving them in the hallway to check out each room. The first one wasn't so bad, but its bathroom said otherwise. Yeojin had opened the cabinet behind the sink mirror, only to be horrified seeing cockroaches inside. A startled scream sounded, then quickly followed with slappings on the wall to get each one of them dead. The noises alerted Haseul downstairs.

"Are you alright up there??" Her voice called, loud enough for Yeojin to hear, so she yelled back. 

"Yeah!"

After hastily washing her hands, luggages, boxes and bags were quickly unpacked. The closet soon filled with clothes, shelves decorated with action figures from various cartoons, and her room settled the way Yeojin wanted it to be. With everything already being hectic, she decided to crash for the day, plopping onto her bed with closed eyes, ready to sleep. Just then, Haseul rudely interrupted by barging into her room.

"Hey, Yeojin." 

"What~?" She whined, causing the older to sigh. 

"Come down and meet our neighbors! They made us cake because they realized we were moving in." 

"No…I wanna sleep." 

"It's chocolate and vanilla." That seemed to do the trick since Yeojin immediately sprung up. 

"Just kidding, I'll be down in a bit." 

"Well hurry before they leave." With that being said, Haseul quickly went back downstairs to pay for the workers for their job, making sure to also leave a tip. She proceeded to talk more with her new neighbors, only just realizing they were circus performers. 

"Nice to meet you, new neighbor~!" The red head, whom Haseul had just met, gave her a crushing bear hug. She felt all the air in her lungs disappear instantly. 

"Easy, Jiwoo." The other woman standing beside them chuckled amusedly.

"Sorry! I'm just so excited to know you more!" 

"Anyways, my name is Jungeun, though professionally known as Kim Lip. And many people call her Chuu." 

"Yep! It's been our name for years." All while they were introducing themselves, Haseul was still struggling to breath a little while stretching her back. 

"Wow, that's really cool! What do you guys do?" 

"Just some acrobatics stuff, but mostly singing together." 

"Mhm! Jungeun is usually the one tossing me in the air, but I don't mind!" 

"Are you going to do a performance or anything soon? I feel like my sister and I would need that to adjust to this new place more." 

"Ah, well that's up to our leader, Sooyoung. She's been exercising a lot lately so we'll most likely do one soon." Haseul smiled, nodding at Jungeun's explanation. 

"That’s great! My little sister would be happy to hear that. She's been having a rough time ever since we started moving." 

"Awww don't worry too much. She's just a kid after all, right?" Jiwoo easily sympathized.

"A high schooler, actually. Her name's Yeojin." 

"Wow~ cute name!" 

"Is she still unpacking? We can meet her later." 

"Oh, are you guys busy, or?" 

"Sorta. Just need to do our daily morning practices." 

"Alright yeah, Yeojin can talk to you guys after that." 

"I can't wait! She must be a sweet kid for a nice name." Jiwoo commented before going back down into her apartment with Jungeun.

Little did they know, Yeojin was watching their exchange through her window, briefly picking up the conversation before going on about her business. She was more excited for the cake that they'd given to her and Haseul, thus, rushed downstairs to see it resting on their kitchen table. Without wasting any more time, Yeojin quickly grabbed a knife, fork and plate, cutting one for herself, then taking a bite. Just as delicious as she expected while nodding in approval. Haseul walked back inside, surprised to see Yeojin already eating the cake. She chuckled at how much the younger was enjoying it before trying some herself and by that, from Yeojin's plate.

"Eat your own slice~" 

"I'm saving your stomach for dinner, kiddo." Haseul playfully rolled her eyes before smudging some chocolate frosting the younger's nose with her finger.

"Hey! Now your finger germs are all over it." 

"Then it's mine now." She smiled before taking the whole plate for herself and into her bedroom upstairs. It was too fast for her to properly respond back.

"Ugh…older siblings." A sigh sounded, then she contemplated on going outside since the rain seemed to have calmed down. "Eh, why not?"

With a raincoat and an umbrella, Yeojin stepped outside in the cold, sunless sky before walking further away to explore. She hummed her favorite song to her mind off of things while stepping further into the forest. Luckily, there weren't many trees around, so it was easy to navigate. However, there were many plants and flowers that Yeojin had never seen before, so she occasionally stopped to gaze at them, even taking some with her along the way. A variety of animal calls and sounds were heard, though Yeojin couldn't name enough, only able to figure out owls and other random birds. The further she walked, the more she noticed a well that caught her attention in the distance. Eyes gazing with interest, Yeojin stepped closer, its stone walls braced together with old cement, forming a circular shape. The well didn’t have the typical little roof or a bucket, rather just there by itself with a deep, hollow opening inside.

"Hello?" Her voice echoed for what seemed like minutes. 

  
  
  


_ Hello……. _ _ hello…… _ _ hello…… _

  
  
  


"Wow, this place really is ancient." Yeojin turned around to walk back, but never expected to see a cat casually sitting in front of her. She yelped and stumbled back slightly while placing a hand on her chest. "Geez! Where the heck did you come from?" The cat simply walked closer to her as she bent down to its level, petting the soft, black fur. "Do you have a name?"

Purring was all it responded, clearly enjoying the attention. Yeojin chuckled fondly before picking it up with both arms upon realizing the sky wasn't raining anymore. "You don't talk much, do ya?"

As the feline could respond at all. It simply stared off into the distance, not minding Yeojin's onslaught of questions. Then suddenly, rustling could be heard near them. Both were immediately alerted by this as they looked towards the same direction. But soon enough, a girl appeared from behind tall bushes. She dressed in a purple hoodie, skinny jeans, and red converse. Her brunette hair and eyes were so…beautiful. Yeojin didn't even realize she was staring too long and barely noticed the cat jump out of her grasp.

"Hey there! Are you the new neighbor?" 

"Uh—yeah, yes I am." 

"Cool, my name is Yerim. What about you?" 

"Yeojin." 

"Nice to meet you, Yeojin." She smiled as they both shook hands. "I hope the apartment complex is alright for you. It's not in the best shape from what I heard." 

"Ugh, I know. But the neighbors seem nice, so I don't mind much." 

"Why did you move here anyway?" Yerim questioned, though her attention averted to the cat in her arms, purring at the attention. 

"My older sister got a new promoting job or whatever, so we had to move." Yeojin pouted while briefly summarizing everything.

"I see, is that what's gotten you so down?" 

"Yeah…moving is just so weird. I spent my whole life in our old house." 

"Aw, does that mean it'll take a while for you to get used to everything?" 

"Finally someone understands." They both giggle at that. 

"I know what it's like to have an older sister. Jinsol works  _ every _ single day of every hour. At home, too. I'm concerned about her lack of social life." 

"Haha my sister Haseul works daily as well. But she can be annoying sometimes." 

"Ugh same here. Jinsol complains about being unable to go out a lot when she could easily ask for a break. She knows her boss is lenient enough." 

"Older siblings, am I right?" Yeojin chuckled again before noticing the cat nodding along with Yerim. "By the way, is it yours?" 

" _ She. _ And I guess you could say that. She’d always wander elsewhere and mind her own business." 

"Oh, so you put that yellow collar on her?" 

"Yeah! It seems to be her favorite color." 

"She's really pretty and cute." Yeojin thought she might be hallucinating when the cat looked like it smiled back at her, but she didn’t think any further. 

"Hm, it's getting a bit late so why don't I walk you back to your house?" 

"Sure! I've been sleepy the whole ride here anyway."

Yerim had set the cat down to follow both of them on their way back to Yeojin's new home. During then, conversations were easily started as they learned more about each other, mostly their similarities and what not. The two liked playing video games, watching TV, collecting figurines, annoying their sisters, etc. It was very pleasant to know more about Yerim and be friends with her. And to top it all off, she was really, really pretty. They finally reached Yeojin's porch, knowing it was time for them to depart temporarily. But as she got up the stairs, there was a small package by the door.

"What the…?" 

"What is it?" 

"Don’t know." Yeojin gave it a little shake. "Probably something Haseul forgot to grab. That always happens." The older softly laughed at the tease. 

"Hey um, do you wanna hang out again tomorrow? I know we just introduced ourselves today, but I-I was thinking we could get to know each other more." Yerim offered, looking slightly nervous while clutching the cat in her hands. 

"Of course, I'd like that." 

"Great! I'll be heading home now. Enjoy your stay here." 

"Thanks." Yeojin lightly giggled before entering her house. "See you later!" 

"Bye." The cat looked up, shaking her head in disapproval when she saw Yerim wave back awkwardly, eyes wandering to the door that Yeojin had just gone through. The girl rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up, it was not love at first sight."

There was no point denying anything else since it was already obvious. Yerim walked away with the cat still in her arms. As she began crossing the forest, memories from her past began overflowing all of the sudden. Just a few years ago, everything was normal. It seemed normal at least. Until she and her siblings discovered something they wished they hadn't. The events felt they'd happened yesterday, so the trauma was still fresh for Yerim. Only, she didn't know what to do. Or how to stop this madness. The cat could hear and feel Yerim's heart rate increasing and pawed at her wrist. She meowed once and the girl immediately sat down near a tree, just for a quick stop before continuing her walk to her own house.

"Sorry, I'm just…." Yerim took one look at the cat, who already knew what she was thinking. "Should I tell her…about the…?" It nodded silently. "Wait so, does that mean she's back? Even after we—" 

A little paw placed itself on Yerim's lips, silencing her. The cat nodded again. Sighing, she got up from her seat, carrying her back in her arms. "Let's just go home. D on't wanna have Jinsol getting a heart attack again."

* * *

Haseul was busy on the phone when Yeojin reentered their house. Boxes were still piled in some places, the fridge quite literally empty, and everything just seemed very old and out of place. She sighed to herself, remembering that they now live here, unfortunately. Yeojin padded into the kitchen where Haseul sat at the table, her head practically buried in her laptop while typing away at whatever. The younger knew she couldn’t be bothered, thus merely leaving the small package there for her. Haseul examined with furrowed eyebrows before hastily stopping Yeojin from walking further away.

“Hey, this is for you.”

“Huh? Really?” She picked it back up in her hands, finally noticing the little note that read:

**_To: Jo Yeojin_ **

That was all it said, not even informing her who it was or where it came from. Yeojin flipped the whole box to see if any other messages were written elsewhere. She didn’t think any further and shrugged before going back into her bedroom upstairs, nearly forgetting where it was because the layout of their new house was weird and awfully foreign to her. Every minute of this reminded Yeojin the painful reality. But she just had to get used to this, no matter how much it sucked. After a long bath and some hours on the internet, Yeojin finally called it a day when 8PM hit as she plopped onto her bed once more with a somewhat dramatic sigh. The little box was just centimeters away before it was opened at last. She took out a flimsy object that was wrapped in crumbled papers. Nothing else was written on there either, leaving her confused until she unraveled it.

“What the…?” In Yeojin’s hand held a doll that was her. It wore the same coat, shoes, jeans, even identical hair styles. She thought about how weird it was before going into Haseul’s room just across. “Hey, unnie.”

“Hm?” The older woman remained focused on typing up some pages for work like always. 

“Did you make this for me?”

“Make what?” That thankfully caught her attention, eyes narrowing at the doll in Yeojin’s hand. “Uuhh, no? I didn’t. Where’d you find it?”

“In that package I gave to you in the kitchen this morning.”

“Oh, well it’s probably from one of your friends.”

“But none of them know how to make dolls, for all I know. And they would always write a not—”

“Yeojin, just do whatever with it, I need to work.”

Before any more words could be said, Haseul made things clear when she lightly pushed her out of her bedroom, leaving the younger outside astonished. She pouted before giving a dirty look at the door as if it was Haseul, then walking back into her own room, pondering on about what to do with the doll. It initially creeped her out but now Yeojin was more amused. The night was noticeably getting colder, but she didn’t mind too much while cuddling with her doll. Today officially marked day one for Yeojin in this not-so-new home, still disbelieving how fast just a few hours went by like nothing. She wished she could control time and warp herself back to when Haseul didn’t receive any promotions, but that would be selfish on her end. As much as Yeojin was happy for her sister, moving was never expected whatsoever. Sure, things could’ve been different, worse, and they had to relocate to another country, but that’s what it felt like to Yeojin; a new bizzare world.

“You know, maybe if this place was more fun and exciting, I definitely would’ve been hooked on moving. I know I’m quick to judge, but…it’s so boring here.” She practically whispered to the doll in her arms, oddly feeling a sense of comfort. “I guess this isn’t so bad though. I meant a girl named Yerim today. And she’s really,  _ really _ pretty. I might have fallen a little too quickly. We are hanging out together again tomorrow, so….”

Yeojin shuffled on the bed to lay on her side before continuing. “Aside from that, I’m not sure whether I should meet the neighbors soon. They could be freaks. Or maybe I’m assuming too much.” she chuckled to herself, then looked at the doll, gazing upon its features. “Oh well, it’s getting late anyway. Goodnight.”

Flicking the light off by her nightstand, Yeojin finally closed her eyes to sleep at last and soon fell into deep slumber. Outside just by the window stand, there sat the same cat from earlier today. She blended in with the gloomy night sky, though moonlight slightly illuminated her silhouette. Ears were perked up, alerted at something she couldn’t quite figure out. However, her attention focused mainly on the doll laying ever so innocently on Yeojin’s bed as she cuddled with it. The cat’s sharp eyes stared dead straight into its button ones, seeing their intent feeling rather obvious. She rubbed her paw at the window, unsure whether or not to try and get Yeojin’s attention, but with her already fast asleep, the cat knew anything would be futile. Audible meowing sounded throughout the neighborhood, then she crawled away and jumped onto the ground, not leaving until giving one last look at Yeojin’s window for a brief second. With that, she took off running into the forest with much information to tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can follow my Twitter @kumahye uwu I post the au on there as well


	3. New Friend

Birds sang and chirped out in the fresh morning breeze, sitting on tree branches while tending their individual nests that held little chicks who were eager for the food being brought to them. And speaking of food, Haseul was in the kitchen making breakfast with some spare eggs she found in their fridge as Yeojin wearily came downstairs, still sleepy even after a restful night. She held her doll in one hand, though it was slightly dirty after being dropped several times in the hall and Yeojin once tripped over its head, which nearly tore the whole thing right off when she tried picking it up. Aside from that, Yeojin safely placed the doll on a chair conveniently next to her. When Haseul turned around with a frying pan full of eggs in her hand, she was quite amused seeing this.

“Aren’t you too old for dolls?”

“They’re fine for any age.” Yeojin argued, which only made the older chuckle. 

“Alright, whatever you say.” Afterwards, she grabbed two plates, carefully setting them on the table. “Grab yourself a fork.”

She obediently did so as told, then sat back down in her chair. “Are you going to work today?”

“Not yet, I’m gonna go out shopping and see what we can afford for now.”

“Ok. And what are you supposed to do anyway? Must be important enough for us to move.

“Just reporting more often than I do and managing a whole team, so I’ll have to be on the computer a lot.”

“Hm, great.”

Haseul sighed at the obviously uninterested tone. “Why don’t you go explore this whole house if you’re so bored?”

“I’m not bored. I’m just curious.” Yeojin simply answered back, feigning oblivious. “What kind of things do you have to report about or whatever?”

“Oh, I basically just travel anywhere in the world to write about the culture, people language, etc. If I’m ever lucky, I might be able to fly first class one day and visit a lot of countries. To summarize, it’s basically like Buzzfeed—hey, where are you going??” Yeojin abruptly got up from her seat while Haseul was barely able to explain everything. She didn’t forget to take the doll along. 

“Explore the house like you suggested.”

“That kid….” Was all that could be said as she watched her younger sister exit the kitchen. “You better finish your breakfast soon!” Haseul yelled out so she could get her message, despite the silent response.

Yeojin wandered through the long hallways, taking in the house’s odd layout as much as possible so she could remember every room and easily be able to locate them. It was practically a whole tour, soon enough when she discovered the boiler room near a large mirror that was propped up entirely on the wall. Yeojin arched an eyebrow at it, then opened the door to the boiler room only peeking inside momentarily. Needless to say, the little room was very dark, even with the light shining above her, it didn’t illuminate enough. Not to mention how dusty it was as well and she was not going to be the one who’ll clean it. Yeojin sighed before going into their living room, finally viewing all of the hung portraits. They all seemed like mere decorations, though she couldn’t help but just stare and closely examine each one. All were noticeably very aesthetically pleasing to look at, especially with the astounding photography skills added. With that dedication, the portraits were surely just mere decorations.

Yeojin continued on from there, passing the fireplace as she wondered if they should use it soon since the weather was bitter. Like yesterday, they still had a lot of unpacking to do, especially with all the boxes lying around. Yeojin sighed before taking matters into her own hands, setting her doll down on the coffee table first. She got busy with unloading each box and placed various items wherever in the living room, not really caring where they should go, feeling that Haseul would eventually move them later anyway. It took her about half an hour before she finally finished setting all of the taken photos of her and Haseul on counters and atop the fireplace. Just when she moved the last empty box away towards the corner, something quickly caught her attention. Behind the wallpaper was a clear layout of what seemed like a little door, as if Yeojin’s curiosity. Needless to say, she was indeed astonished to see it.

“Why would they just cover this…?” The girl asked no one in particular before her hand on it. That was when she noticed the keyhole and narrowed her eyes at. Yeojin decided to question Haseul about the new discovery, promptly disturbing the older woman while she was busy making calls. "Hey, unnie. Come check this out." 

"Can't you see I'm busy??" Haseul momentarily distanced her phone away to whisper. 

"You need to see this!" 

"God—fine!" She told the person on the other side of their call to wait for a bit, not forgetting to mutter an apology before following Yeojin into the living room where she saw the little door. 

"Isn't that cool? You think anything is inside?" The younger kneeled down in front of it, before looking back at her older sister who crossed her arms while having a pointed look. 

"I don't have time for this, Yeo." 

"But wait! There has to be a key to this." 

"Why would there be a key if it's already sealed off??" 

"Well why wouldn't there be? It could still be around here somewhere." 

Now Haseul was beyond frustrated. "Just—go look in the cabinets at the kitchen then. Now if you'll excuse me."

Yeojin's eyes followed her as she walked away. With that suggestion, the younger girl went full detective mode in search for some keys that could possibly open the little door. Many things were opened, then slammed shut, every corner investigated as Yeojin even went as far as looking under the kitchen table when Haseul 'accidentally' stepped on her calf. She let out an irritated sigh before reentering the living room, pouting as all of her efforts searching came up with no real results. Yeojin was about to pick up her doll again, only it was missing from its spot on the coffee table where she'd left it sitting. Confused, and more tired, Yeojin now had to go look for it as well. But luckily, that didn't take her too long when she turned around, seeing the doll lady on the cold, hard ground next to a box. 

An eyebrow arched with bewilderment as she stepped closer, questioning how that was never seen until now. Yeojin shrugged and probably didn't see it since she was so focused on unpacking most of the big boxes. But compared to them, this one was much smaller in size. Yeojin picked it up, surprised by the heaviness. She merely set the box on the ground before looking inside, only to be shocked upon seeing piles and piles of numerous uniquely designed keys. Afterwards, Yeojin resorted to sliding it towards the little door, using as much strength as possible to quickly get this over with. Once there, Yeojin took a key and jammed through the thin wall paper, easily tracing the door's shape. Then she proceeded to try every single key to if any of them worked, which led to this process lasting for nearly an hour. Yeojin cussed under her breath every time none of them worked. There were only just a few left, so if she could just last a little longer, maybe that key will appear. If not, then the whole box of worthless pieces of metal will be thrown away and set on fire. 

One by one, each of them were thrown aside, next to where Yeojin was sitting, until there was finally only one left. She took it out, only noticing how oddly different it was from the rest. Sure, some of them were weird, if not weirder than the key that was currently in her hand. After a mere shrug, Yeojin put the key in. It worked. She let out an audible gasp of relief, thanking the heavens for this. Yeojin eagerly opened the door at last, but then that excitement immediately turned sour when she saw nothing but bricks, which sealed it off entirely.

"Are you  _ kidding _ me?! After—an hour and ten minutes??" Yeojin glared menacingly at it while in utter disbelief. Behind her, the doll laid on the ground, its button eyes witnessing everything. "Ugh! Unbelievable…." 

She placed a hand on the bricked wall. It felt cold and dusty. "Hm…."

Yeojin tilted her head to the side, pondering about some possibilities. What if there was something behind it? Though that sparked even more questions as she leaned closer, turning her head to the side so her ear was directly in front of it. Yeojin had no idea what she was supposed to be hearing but curiosity took over. She leaned even closer, and closer, till they were centimeters apart. Listening as intently as possible, Yeojin remained utterly focused. It felt like minutes and minutes had passed by, she froze silently, very still. Then…there were squeaking? Just as she was going to continue listening, the doorbell suddenly rang, startling the poor girl.

Haseul was quick on her feet to answer it. She was pleasantly surprised to see two people, one blonde and a brunette, on her porch. “Hello, can I help you?”

“Hi! Hope I’m not bothering your morning too much. I’m Jinsol.” Both of them shake hands, before she continued on. “I realized we’re both working on the same team and that you’re going to be our new member!”

“Oh, that’s cool! So you’re also going around the world to report about things like me?” 

“Pretty much. And I wanted to give you this as well.” Jinsol handed Haseul a large travel guide, causing her to gasp. “It’s the newest edition and it’ll come in handy when we’re traveling together with the team, too.”

“Wow.” Haseul briefly flipped through it with amazement. “You didn’t have to give me this, but thank you so much!”

“Ah, it’s not biggy. Since we’re basically co-workers now, what’s your name?”

“Oh right, excuse my manners. I’m Haseul, nice to meet you.” The blonde before turning to her side.

“This is my younger sister, Yerim. She wanted to tag along with me because she planned on hanging out with your sister today?”

“Yeojin’s in the living room right now doing whatever, you can go ahead and talk with her.”

“Thank you.” Yerim bowed politely before heading inside to meet the younger girl while Haseul and Jinsol were busy talking about their job. Yeojin was putting all of the keys back in the little box when Yerim arrived. They smiled upon seeing each other. 

“Hey Yeojin, wanna come over to my house?”

That was when Yerim finally took notice of the little door, staring intently at it. She kept her breathing under control as much as possible before shaking her head to clear her mind. Yeojin then stood up, carrying the heavy box with her and set it down on the coffee table. While she was busy figuring out a safer place to store it away, Yerim glared at Yeojin’s doll that was innocently laying on the ground. If anyone saw her like this, they’d automatically assume she was crazy. The doll didn’t move at all, nor could make any facial expressions like human beings. But that wasn’t the point. Yerim didn’t realize how much she was spacing out when Yeojin snapped her out of her trance.

“Hey, are you alright?” She questioned with utmost concern, which made the older girl’s heart flutter a little. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Let’s go?”

“Wait! Let me bring this along with us.” Yerim was surprised by this and there wasn’t anything she could do about it. 

“Yeah…sure.”

Without wasting any more time, they quickly set off into the forest, peacefully walking on its earthy ground. The two girls discussed how their morning went as Yeojin learned Yerim had to deal with her sister’s usual mischief while also mentioning how Jinsol had been more stricter these days. Their conversation ranged from their life, to school, then being excited upon learning that they were both going to the same one, then to favorite movies and games. Yerim informed Yeojin that her sister had many games to choose from, guaranteeing their playtime could last for hours. But for now, the younger girl wanted to just be in nature a bit longer before drowning herself into the game world.

“So what do you usually like to do in the forest?”

“If Haseul wasn’t here to nag me about cleanliness, I would collect cool looking flowers.

“Haha is that your hobby?”

“Pretty much. It’s fun when you do it more often. When you get a considerable collection, you can memorize what each of them look like and then find more.”

“Hm, interesting. You sound like you do this often.”

“When I’m able to sneak out, yes. Also, it doesn’t have to be just flowers, you can collect whatever you find to be rare or alien-like.” Yerim chuckled once more, before nodding in agreement. 

“Sounds fun, let’s do it then.”

They carried their little scavenger hunting game to find the most bizzare looking items of nature in the forest. Yeojin found frogs and snails on multiple occasions, sometimes tossing onto trees to see if they stuck while Yerim discovered various types of flowers that she’d never seen before. Both of them had also decided to search for bird nests on tree tops, which took awhile since it was hard to see through the layers of leaves. Yeojin eventually found one resting peacefully on a branch before telling Yerim to come over and see. Afterwards, they began collecting worms to toss up at the nest in a game of basketball. Their goal was to throw as much up there as possible so they could feed the baby birds. However, when the parents came back to see their nest filled with them, it wasn’t a surprise when they were angered by it. Then came an onslaught of birds chasing Yerim and Yeojin out of the forest as they screamed for their lives while running towards the older girl’s house. She held Yeojin’s hand throughout the whole mishap, relieved when they finally saw her home.

“Oh my god! That was close!” Yerim placed a hand on her chest to calm her beating heart. 

“I know. Never seen birds so angry before.”

“Let’s just go inside before they spot us again.” The two girls finally entered her house, nicely warm and cozy. Yeojin noticed the fireplace was lit as she crossed through the living room as Yerim led her towards the stairs. Walking up, they immediately enter the older’s room, which was filled with lots of posters, stuffed animals everywhere, toys, etc. “Sorry it’s a mess, I get lazy with cleaning.”

Yeojin merely laughed it off. “Don’t worry about it, I actually like this.” She then sat on the ground after making a spot for herself by shuffling the plushies aside, setting a few on her lap. “What kind of games do you have, by the way?

“More than I can even count. It’s mostly Nintendo Switch and PS4 games.”

“Oh~ let’s play the PS4!”

From that point on, keeping track of time was practically none existent with their minds buried in numerous games that took what felt like weeks to finish the entire walkthrough in one sitting. Yeojin felt her legs getting sore after being bent for hours while Yerim could feel her eyes screaming in pain. Many cursings and shootings sounded through the house and it sounded like they were having a big fight. But rather, the whole thing was on the game they were playing. Yeojin and Yerim were so focused that they barely noticed anything else around them. Though whenever the two got hungry, they would both make a quick trip down to the kitchen and grab some snacks before resuming their paused level in Kingdom Hearts. Eventually, they had to stop when Jinsol arrived home at around seven o’clock at night, surprised to see Yeojin still at her house. She scolded Yerim for not taking her home sooner because Haseul was starting to worry. With that being said, they were both now walking back to the younger girl’s house, Yerim using her phone for a flashlight while navigating through the dark forest.

“Today was really fun! I enjoyed it very much, thanks for inviting me over.” Yeojin expressed with utmost gratitude. 

“Yeah, no problem at all. Just glad you had fun and all.” 

"We should really finish that level one day. That boss was such a pain in the ass!"

"Ugh, I know, right? I lost count of how many times Riku kept dying on me."

“Same with Sora. Maybe it’s just us.”

“Probably, I haven’t played that game in a while anyway.”

“I think we have the jist of it now.”

“Do you want to come over again tomorrow?”

“Sure! I have plenty of time to catch up on Kingdom Heart’s story before we actually go to school.”

“Oh, now that you mentioned it….” Yerim was about to say more, but then her eyes suddenly averted to the doll secured safely in Yeojin’s embrace as it stared directly back at her. 

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing…nothing, um…let’s hurry up and get you home, yeah?”

“Okay.”

Crickets, birds and several owls could be heard throughout the peaceful night. They could see fireflies illuminating the forest, going on about their nocturnal hours as the girls passed by admiring. Yeojin giddily skipped on the dirt ground, being joyful of how her day went despite how rather unproductive it was. Although school will be absolute hell, she couldn’t wait to spend lots of time with Yerim as they could possibly attend classes together, meet in the hallways, at lunch, and even on their way home. Maybe she has fallen a little too deep after all. Yeojin had only just met her about two days ago and was hoping to get closer. If possible, that is. They finally arrived at the younger’s house, which was time for them to depart for now.

“You should rest soon so you’re not tired tomorrow. And sorry for keeping you at my house for hours.” Yerim shyly rubbed her neck as Yeojin politely brushed the apology aside.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. We both had a great time anyways.” They both chuckled until Jinsol’s shouting echoed throughout the night, calling her name and telling her to hurry up.

“Ugh…does she have to be so loud?”

Yeojin giggled even more. “She’s very caring of you, so better hurry.”

“Haha we’ll see each tomorrow?”

“Definitely.” With that being said, Yerim got off her porch and began walking back to the forest. She was a bit hesitant and felt slightly sad when she watched the older getting further away. But Yeojin really wanted to do it. “Hey wait!”

Raising both her eyebrows, Yerim turned around to ask what was wrong, only to be lightly tackled in a hug with Yeojin wrapping her waist. The younger’s head rested comfortably for a few seconds, which felt longer until she finally pulled away. Yerim gazed down at her golden brown eyes, admiring how they reflect the moonlight and she could stare at them forever. She then chuckled and cleared her throat timidly before speaking up. “What was that?”

“Sorry, I just had to.”

Yerim petted her head once, then they separated. “You don’t have to apologize.” Yeojin admired her smile. “I should really go now, before Jinsol has another unnecessary panic attack.”

The two momentarily shared a laughter. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow morning!” She waved goodbye before entering her house at last, not noticing Yerim glaring at the doll.

“See you….” Her expression morphed. “…see you **soon**.”


	4. Little Door

The house had gone silent, the two of them getting ready for bed after an exhausting day. Today had turned out just as monotonous as the ones before, and that wasn't nearly enough to satisfy Yeojin. The lamp illuminated her room as she held the doll close. Laying down, her eyes drilled holes into the ceiling, boredom beginning to claim reign over her. She turned to her phone for some time, but even that started to lose its appeal, exhaustion from the day taking over. Tired as she was, Haseul's snoring in the room over certainly didn't help one bit, if anything only serving to irritate Yeojin. As luck would have it however, a nearby pillow was able to block the wails of slumbering Haseul, letting her drift off to the land of dreams. Midnight made its presence known, encompassing the house in its umbral beauty. Something…or someone opened Yeojin's door, exposing her room to the darkness that lay in wait. Half awake, she looked for her other self, the doll which she had grown to love. Oddly enough, it was nowhere to be found. Irritated, she sat up and surveyed the room.

“Where the heck is it?”

Just by her bedroom door, the doll laid innocently on the ground, but something was towering over it. Yeojin narrowed her eyes at the webbed feet and sharp claws, slowly looking up. She tried to figure out what that thing was, before quickly recognizing…a swan? The only odd part was its button eyes. She merely stared at it, utterly confused as to how if even got into her house. Right then, the swan suddenly cawed at Yeojin and took her doll by its beak, racing away down the hall. She quickly hopped out of bed to chase after it while using her phone as a flashlight. This was ridiculous since Yeojin was telling the swan to stop, believing it would somehow understand her. Soon, they were downstairs, everything was completely dark and difficult to navigate around. Feet constantly tripped over things, as well as slipping here and there. Yeojin chased the swan all the way to her living room, only to be surprised it made a beeline into the little door. She was confused as to how it could even fit, but opened the door anyway. Then a loud gasp sounded.

“Whoa….”

Was all Yeojin could let out as the swan hastily paddled further away. A part of her wanted to go tell Haseul about this, though she’d probably just recieve a scolding for being up in the middle of the night. On the other hand, something about the vibrant tunnel just entranced Yeojin, wordlessly _tempting_ her to come forward. So that’s what she decided on before carefully crawling in. It felt light and somewhat soft by the touch while a refreshing air breezed over her. Yeojin briefly looked behind her, seeing how the tunnel’s aurora lights slightly illuminated her living room and realized how bright it was. Numerous questions filled her mind, but she was more fascinated than confused as she etched nearer to the other end. Yeojin got closer and closer until another door was in sight, waiting to be opened. The curious girl finally pushed it lightly, cautiously.

“Huh…? I’m back?”

It was her living room, only more colorful and less boring. But either way, Yeojin oddly felt welcomed and accepted as she stood up to gaze around. It amazed her how identical the layout was, but Yeojin did notice the differences. The portraits were beautifully extravagant with people posing, an incredible chandelier that warmly lit the room, and many more that Yeojin couldn’t think enough to describe. Although their house was small, this felt like a mansion, which may have slightly spoiled her a little. Before Yeojin could observe more, a delicious aroma of omelettes and chicken filled attracted her towards the kitchen. It’d also reminded her that she hadn’t eaten much today. Walking inside with an excited smile, Yeojin’s eyes immediately averted towards a figure cooking at the stove, her back turned. The girl frowned when she saw this person and despite not seeing their face, she immediately recognized Haseul. But that was impossible, her older sister should be drooling in bed right now. 

Yeojin didn’t dare to say anything, instead tippy-toed towards the person as quietly as possible. Was this a good idea? Probably not. But should she be ready? Absolutely. Yeojin quickly laid her eyes towards a fork laying on the table and grabbed it, just for safety measures. As the girl got closer, she reached her hand out to tap their shoulder. This felt more suspenseful than it should’ve been, but it was the only solution Yeojin could think of. Feeling a soft touch, the person quickly turned around, clearly startled but her expressions immediately softened. Yeojin, however, was frightened when she saw Haseul with _buttons_ for eyes.

“Hey, kid! Took you long enough to come down and have some dinner.”

“I-I—who are you??”

“What do you mean? I’m Haseul, your older sister!”

“No way, she doesn’t have—”

“These?” The woman pointed to where Yeojin directly was staring. “Silly, I’m your other sister.” 

“My…what??”

“Your _other sister_.” She repeated with more emphasis, before giggling amusedly at the younger girl’s bewilderment. “Let me explain after I finish making the rest of these dishes for you. Go have a seat in the dining hall, I’ll be there in a bit.”

Like that, Haseul wasted no more time before resuming her task as Yeojin stood frozen in her spot momentarily, just staring at the woman’s back. She finally got to her senses again and hesitantly did as told, all while trying not to pass out from shock. Yeojin kept questioning who exactly was this person and why was she talking to her as if she’d known her since the beginning of time. The girl was starting to think all of this was just a prank and that Haseul was behind it…which really seemed unlike her. If she did, how could it be this elaborate. And Yeojin was sure there was no way the older woman would be creative enough for this. Taking a gentle seat on the chair, she looked around, not recognizing the dining hall. Observing even more, there were glamorous utensils prepared, large plates, lit candles, and many other things. Yeojin did notice, however, that there were plates that were also placed in the three chairs next to her. Frowning, she was about to question it when Haseul, or someone, finally appeared to set down her dish full of chicken and omelette. Yeojin widened her eyes immediately.

“Holy crap! You made this??”

“Yep! Just for you.”

She took her fork to take a quick bite of the omelette. “This is _so_ good! Best eggs I’ve ever had!”

“There’s plenty of more where that came from.”

Haseul giggled and walked over to sit across from Yeojin before placing her hand on the table. Afterwards, food magically appeared seemingly out of thin air as the younger girl beheld the amazing sight. Her mouth stayed agape as the dining hall lit up more with candles, as well as another chandelier directly above them. Yeojin lost count of how many times she’d gasped while witnessing everything becoming before her wide, puppy eyes. This felt like anything was possible, no matter how ridiculous and absurd they were. Pretty soon, they both enjoyed an amazing night of probably the best dinner Yeojin had ever had in her life. Haseul noticed how the younger girl was constantly bewildered at this world, so she finally decided to tell her what she’d been wanting to hear since arriving.

“Alright, I know you’re always curious about this, so I want to clear things up with you.”

“Please do, I feel like I’m about to pass out any minute now.” Yeojin replied, obviously joking thus causing the older woman to laugh. 

“This world was created for you. I’ve been waiting here for a while.”

“What do you mean?

“Means that you’re finally home! We’ll always have fun here.”

“So…how long have you been here??

“I’ve honestly lost count at this point, it’s been _too_ long.” She answered with a giggle as Yeojin arched an eyebrow. 

“Wow, well—this is all just so crazy.”

“It gets lonely around here often, so that’s why I have the extra plates there and pretend I’m eating with guests.” They both collectively chuckle at that before she continued. “How about I give you a tour around our house? Everything is more lively than you’d ever expect.

“I see that.” Her voice with a mouth full of food. The girl was about to eat more when Haseul suddenly pulled the plate away. 

“You can finish that later since it’s getting darker outside. But, never too late for a fun tour. Come with me!”

She ushered before entering the living room. To Yeojin’s ‘surprise’, the portraits of people were moving as if they were displayed on television, furniture greeted her, the fireplace automatically lit up, and many more that she couldn’t keep her eyes on. Needless to say, this was all quite overwhelming. Haseul led the way while Yeojin gratefully tagged along for the whole duration till they finally went upstairs to their bedrooms. Once inside, she immediately gasped in shock and delight. On shelves, her action figures were exactly like in their films and various plushies gathered around her feet. Yeojin giggled, kneeling down to play with them until Haseul spoke up with a warm smile.

“You must be tired by now, so it’s time for sleep, kiddo.”

“Yeah…this all just feels like a dream." 

"Exactly. This is what you have always dreamed about, so you belong here." 

"Oh, I see." She was slightly taken aback by that statement, but felt nice to be in a place where everyone and everything welcomed her. 

"Well go on, don't want you waking up feeling like a zombie in the morning." They chuckled at the joke until she finally hopped into bed. Haseul tucked her in, something the younger girl hadn't seen her sister do for years. "So glad you're finally home, Yeojin." 

"Thanks, I guess…." 

"Goodnight, kid. Sweet dreams."

Then out of the blue, she leaned down to kiss her forehead, another thing that rarely happened for a long time. But Yeojin wasn't exactly complaining. In fact, she was glad and felt like a child again. Many have said they could still see her as a kid at heart and weren't exactly wrong about that. Eyes closing, weariness took over and Yeojin quickly fell into deep sleep, faintly hearing a lullaby hum…

She was woken by morning’s light as clouds made the sky grey. Soft groans sounded along with shuffling as she tried to find a comfortable position to continue snoozing off. Only to be rudely awoken by Haseul’s boisterous voice calling her from downstairs to eat breakfast. Yeojin grunted in irritation while lazily sliding off her bed. Then it hit her. She was…back in the same house? Yeojin froze for a few more seconds before shaking her head. Maybe it was just a really vivid and lucid dream. She refreshed in the bathroom, but even that wasn’t enough to fully wake her up. After minutes of her older sister’s nagging, it was about time she finally slumped downstairs and damn near fell on the steps. Yeojin plopped onto the chair and leaned her head on the table, eyes still closed. Haseul sighed before sliding a breakfast plate towards her as she slightly woke up to the smell of…spinach.

“Ugh…don’t you have anything better to cook?” Yeojin poke at it with her fork as the older woman rolled her eyes. 

“We’ve been through this so many times already. I cook and, no matter how much you complain, you eat.”

“Well then when do I get to cook??”

“Not after you nearly cooked the whole house.” They both stayed silent momentarily after that comment because, well…it was definitely true. “Look, once I’m done settling down everything with my workplace, then we can both go to the grocery store, alright? Now eat your food.”

“Fine.” Yeojin muttered under her breath. 

“You didn’t sleep well?”

“Well…I don’t know. I had the weirdest dream ever.”

“What was it about?” 

“You know that little door I asked you about yesterday? Last night, I opened it again and this time, it had some portal. I crossed through and saw you, but you had buttons for eyes.”

“Buttons for eyes?? What kind of dream is that?”

“That’s what I’m asking myself. You were _so_ different, like completely. I’m not even sure if that was really you though.”

“Interesting…was she prettier?”

“Seriously?” Yeojin deadpanned. “That’s all you’re worried about?”

“No! I’m just curious.” Haseul tried to make it not obvious, which really didn’t work. “What else was there?”

“Aside from that, everything was alive. And I mean, literally talking, moving, singing even.”

“Wow, strange.”

“Yeah, that’s all.” 

“Alright well, I’m gonna have to meet up with my new boss in about half an hour so I asked the neighbors Jiwoo and Jungeun to babysit you, maybe you can invite your friend to come hang out with them, too.”

Morning carried out like no other day, same routine and nothing new. But last night was very extraordinary and rather overwhelming. When Haseul left through the front door, Yeojin crossed into the forest again to head over to Yerim’s house, keeping her doll close in hand. She looked around fondly, dazing in the distance while admiring nature’s natural beauty, but also avoiding that one area where they’d pissed off some angry birds. As Yeojin trekked further, something soft pressed against her calf as she looked down, surprised to see the black cat with her cute yellow collar.

“Hey, you.” Carefully picking her up, she warmly held the feline close, hearing soft purrs. “What are you doing early this morning?”

Obviously there weren’t any responses back as Yeojin continued walking along, mindlessly humming to herself. It didn’t take her long to finally reach the familiar place and unconsciously smiled the closer she got. At that moment, the cat jumped from Yeojin’s hold and hopped onto Yerim’s porch then sat by waiting. Walking up to the door, Yeojin gave a few knocks and heard Jinsol calling inside. After a few seconds, it finally opened as Yerim appeared before her, looking naturally beautiful as always. The younger couldn’t help but gush and smile before quickly clearing her throat.

“Hey, so my sister’s going to be busy today and she asked my neighbors to babysit me. Wanna come hang out with them?”

“Sure! I haven’t talked to Jungeun and Jiwoo unnie in a while anyway.”

“Oh, you know the two??”

“Yeah, Jinsol always talked with them and I just happened to be a part of their conversation one day. They’re really fun to be around!”

“That’s cool. Let’s go right now then.”

Yeojin and Yerim giddily skipped down the forest’s dirt path, talking about whatever came to their minds. The older girl told her friend about Jiwoo and Jungeun’s personality, career and antics, most of which amused Yeojin as she learned about them being a stereotypical loving couple one moment before arguing like a bunch of kids. The cat dozed off while resting in her arms, but she looked down at the doll, innocently dangling by its arm in Yeojin’s grip. The two girls made up jokes, gossiped, etc., and barely realized when they’d finally arrived at Jungeun and Jiwoo’s apartment below. The cat jumped from Yeojin’s arms when they reached the stairs, but decided not to go with them and only sat by. Yerim initially tried to carry her, only to get bitten, thus retracting her hand in a speed of light. Shrugging, the girls quickly followed and walked down before knocking on the door. Both waited for a few seconds, only to peek inside soon after. Jiwoo came rushing towards her door, greeting excitedly which startled the two.

“Hey guys! Come on in.” She ushered them before closing the door behind as they both greeted her back. “You must be Yeojin! Welcome to our small home, make yourselves comfortable.” 

“Thank you.” She shyly replied before sitting down on the couch.

“Jungeunnie is making casserole for breakfast right now. It’s really good!” Jiwoo excitedly informed, then turned on the TV for the two kids to watch whatever. 

“Is she always this cheerful?” Yeojin whispered to Yerim, who chuckled in return. 

“Yeah, she’s pretty friendly to everyone she meets.” 

“How nice.” At that moment, they both heard some hooting, startling the two while looking around. That sound continued going on until Yeojin finally looked up, gesturing Yerim to do the same. "It's an owl!" And it was casually sitting on top of a log, along five others. 

"That's…a lot of owls in one house." 

"Ugh, you should tell that to Jungeun."

The kids laughed. "I'm guessing this was her idea?" Yeojin asked.

"Yep. But you won't believe the first few years living with them. A true nightmare." Jiwoo shook her head when the doll in Yeojin's lap caught her attention. "That's a cute plush you got there!" 

"Oh, thanks."

"Very impressive sewing there. It looks a lot like you!" 

"I know. That's why I kept her." 

"Who gave it to you?" Yerim questioned, but her tone was strange, Yeojin couldn't comprehend why.

"I wish I knew. I randomly found it on my porch." Both Jiwoo and Yerim merely nodded.

After some time spent watching Disney channel and having one of the owls land on Yerim's elbow, the older woman finally finished and called everyone to the kitchen table. There were already dishes prepared for each of them as they all settled down. Yeojin and Yerim marveled at how delicious the casserole was, continuing to dig in as Jungeun slightly blushed at the compliments. Jiwoo proceeded to tease her, which led to them having a silly argument about it. Yerim, who’d been through this many times already, rolled her eyes while Yeojin remained awkwardly staring at the bickering couple. Upon being told to stop, their argument quickly subsided and they all began conversing about whatever interesting topics that were brought up. Yeojin revealed the whole reason why she moved here, how she met Yerim and Jinsol, etc. Jiwoo gushed at how close the two kids had gotten already and went on about how that was similar to when she meant Jungeun at their age.

“You know, I actually didn’t see her running towards me at first. Until we both ended up on the ground.” The older woman chuckled, remembering Jiwoo’s odd way of greeting was by tackling her. 

“Hey! We didn’t get hurt that badly, right?” 

“We had to go to the nurse….” 

“You guys are a really loving couple.” Yeojin lightly teased, causing Yerim to giggle. 

“But that still doesn’t mean we got hurt too much. I only got some scratches.”

“Honey, I had a whole bruise on my back.” And then they argued once more. The two kids groaned as they watched Jiwoo and Jungeun bicker back and forth. At this point, Yeojin was already somehow getting used to it, while Yerim tried her best to ignore them by finishing her plate and placing it inside the sink. 

“Hey, Yeojin.” She whispered. “Wanna go outside?” 

“Sure. I’m already losing my appetite anyway.” She got up from her chair, taking the doll along.

The two then asked for permission, which was somewhat ignored until Jiwoo gave them an energetic yes, before quickly resuming back to arguing with Jungeun again. It was astonishing they always did this everyday. Holding Yerim’s hand, Yeojin laughed while they dashed towards the garden that stretched out for miles. It was beautifully decorated as well, with all kinds of flowers displayed. They both stopped to gaze at the view, in utter awe at how amazing it looked in the morning sunlight. Just when they were about to enter, Yeojin felt something on her ankle, only to see that it was the cat again. Yerim picked her up and embraced her in her arms.

“Hey there! You missed all the fun while we were at the Kim’s.” Upon being informed that, the cat visibly rolled her eyes, like she knew how much they disputed with each other.

“Wow, I’ve never seen a cat so expressive.” The younger girl patted her head. 

“Yeah.” Yerim laughed before handing her to Yeojin. “She’s not like other cats.” Afterwards, she led the younger girl closer to the garden and near a stone bridge. On top of its railings were small pots of bushes of lavenders. “You see all of those butterflies?” 

“Yes. Why?” 

“Watch this.” Yerim said before abruptly cheering excitedly and sprinting onto the bridge, scaring off all of the butterflies as they flew away. The scene, however, was a very beautiful sight to look at and left Yeojin gaping in awe. On the other hand, however, the cat merely shook her head at it. 

“Whoa! That was so cool!” 

“I know, right?? I do that whenever I get bored at home or exploring the forest.” 

“Wow, that’s nice. Maybe this place isn’t so bad after all.”

“Mhm! You get used to it after a while.” Then, something caught Yerim’s eye. “Let’s go to the gazebo!” They both immediately head over to it and take a seat on the old, creaky wooden chairs. Which was a mistake because when the older girl sat down, its legs immediately snapped, causing her to fall. Yeojin cracked up and teased Yerim for it while the cat silently laughed. She blushed with embarrassment before grabbing another chair, testing its strength before sitting down at last. “Things really do wear out overtime.”

Yeojin giggled. “You don’t say.”

All they did after that was just socialize for an hour, merely discussing their future, careers, they’re favorite foods, etc. They were able to know a lot more about each other then. And fortunately, both of them had a lot of things in common; liked playing sports, exploring, hiking, camping, flowers, animals, and the list goes on. While they chatted away for the morning, the cat peacefully rested in Yeojin’s lap, her eyes closed and feeling the cool, soft breeze against her black fur. Their conversation eventually led to their home life. Yeojin didn’t shy away from revealing about her stress of moving, as it was basically all she could talk about, though she still kept her own struggles vague for now. Despite only moving here a few days, Yeojin felt she’d known Yerim for years. It felt weird, but in a good way. On the other hand, Yerim opened up about her childhood and her family. Safe to say that Yeojin was pleasantly surprised to know Yerim was the middle oldest of triplets.

“That’s cool! So where are your sisters?” 

“Right now, Hyunjin is just in her bedroom all day, most likely sleeping as always. She only comes out when she wants to.” 

“I see. No wonder I didn’t hear anything in her room.” 

“Yeah, don’t mind her too much. Maybe you’ll meet her one day.”

“Alright. And what about Hyejoo?” The cat’s ears perked up at her name.

“Oh, um…it’s kind of…complicated right now.” 

Yeojin raised her eyebrows in concern. “What do you mean? Is she alright?” 

“Y-yeah, yeah, it’s just…she’s away, for now.”

“Like, she moved away?” 

“Something along those lines….” Yerim slowly nodded, desperately changing the topic. “A-anyways, what about you? Did anything crazy or fun, or both, happen lately?” 

“Oh, right! I’ve been meaning to tell for the whole day. I had this _really_ weird dream. Actually, I’m not even sure what it was.” The older girl chuckled before allowing her to continue. “So basically, last night, I saw this swan by my bedroom door. It took my doll, I chased it down to the living room, which then led me to this little door in our living room. I opened it and there was a whole _portal_ or something. Sorry if I sound crazy right now.” 

“No no, it’s fine…keep going.” Yerim listened intently for more details. 

“Alright, so, I crawled through and then ended up in my living room again. Which was so weird, although it seemed more, I guess happier and less boring? Anyways, I walked into the kitchen and saw Haseul. But, it didn’t really seem like her?”

The older girl was growing more nervous. “W-what so different about her?” 

“She had buttons for eyes.” Immediately after that, Yerim abruptly stood up, her expression unreadable as she glared at the doll, which scared Yeojin a little bit. 

“Uh…are you—”

“I have to go. I’m sorry, it’s—I-I’ll see you tomorrow.” And then, she just hastily walked away like that as Yeojin’s eyes trailed her distancing figure.

She remained utterly confused as to what had just happened. Additionally, the cat had disappeared from her lap, surprising the younger girl. “What the…where’d she go?”

This day just kept getting weirder and weirder. Yeojin merely shook her head, still questioning whatever that was just now as she made her way back to the lower levels of her apartment complex. Yeojin exited the gardens, mind full of many things. What on earth was Yerim thinking? And why did she seem so…anxious? The girl also asked herself if she took things too far by asking questions about Yerim’s sisters. Yeojin was only curious though. Well, besides, she planned to apologize about it later. She was so distracted with her thoughts that she didn't see the woman in front before they both collided into each other.

“Whoa! Oh my god, I’m so sorry about that. Are you alright?” Yeojin thought she was supposed to be the one apologizing. The stranger placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine. What about you?” 

“Not too bruised up for the show. Yet, at least.” That was when Yeojin looked up. “My name’s Sooyoung, professionally known as Yves. Pleased to meet you…?”

“Yeojin.”

“Yeojin! Are you Haseul’s kid?” She squinted her eyes, noticing the similar features. 

“U-uh—no, actually, just her younger sister.” 

“Oh! You just seemed so young. I assumed haha.” Yeojin nodded awkwardly. “So how’s the house for you both, hm?” 

“It’s fine, I guess. Nothing fun, to be honest.” 

“Well, speaking of fun, my circus team and I are planning a spectacular show! You and Haseul should come by.”

“Yeah, we’re planning to.”

“Nice! I’m planning an amazing performance with my swans. And just for the record, I’m the only gymnast in town that’s exclusively the most skilled in working with trained animals. Though swans were definitely a pain.” 

“Wait. Swans…?” 

“Yep! A _lot_ of angry pecking came along the way. But now I’ve got them all under control. You just have to keep feeding them and stuff.”

“Just out of curiosity, do you have one with button eyes?”

“‘Button eyes’? No, not really. They’re all normal. At least I hope so.”

“Hm.” Yeojin nodded understandingly. “How many swans do you have?” 

“Just enough to spell out my name.”

“Oh. So I assume that’s a lot?” 

“Precisely. They were easy to acquire because my cousin owns a farm so I just happened to ask him to lend me some.” Sooyoung explained as she walked up the stairs to her apartment as Yeojin just happened to unconsciously tail behind her. “It took me _years_ before they finally started to listen to me. But all of the effort was worth it.”

“That’s really cool. So they’re basically tamed now?” 

“Yep! And thankfully so. My first show with them didn’t end quite well…especially for the audience.” 

“Oh, wow.” 

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry too much. The kids still loved it! Not so much the parents, but yeah.”

“How long have you been doing gymnastics?”

“My whole life! Both of my parents are highly athletic, so I just followed in their footsteps.”

“I see. Family tradition?”

“Exactly. Now, I gotta go feed my swans again before they get feisty. Happens when they’re hungry.” They both chuckled before bidding a temporary goodbye to each other. “I’ll see you later, kiddo! Oh! By the way, have this for a treat.” Sooyoung generously gifted Yeojin a chocolate candy bar. 

“Wow, thanks! This is my favorite!” 

“Lovely! And if you can do me a favor, tell Jungeun and Jiwoo I said hi to them and that they need to finalize their act before two weeks.”

“But weren’t you just in their house?”

“Yeah. For only ten seconds because I wasn’t gonna stay for their whole banter.”

“Ah, right.” Yeojin figured.

“Chow!” Sooyoung didn’t say anything further and shut the door, leaving Yeojin merely standing in front of it before walking back down the stairs. The young girl excitedly peeled opened the candy bar and took a small bite, savoring its sweetness. As Yeojin continued walking away, she didn’t get far when Sooyoung abruptly stopped her from above. 

“Hey! Yeojinnie!” The woman called before leaping over the railing to grab a metal bar from under the platform. She then hung upside down from it, inches away from Yeojin’s head, though still able to face her. 

“Whoa! Are you alright??”

“Totally fine, don’t worry.” Sooyoung smiled reassuringly before putting on a serious face. “Hey, there’s something you need to know.” 

Yeojin quickly noticed the tension. “What is it?” 

“The swans told me this and they said it’s really urgent.” 

“They…speak to you?” She raised an eyebrow. 

“Mhm. Once you’re with them everyday for years, communication can go to that level.”

“Alright, so what did they tell you?” 

Sooyoung proceeded to whisper. “Don’t go through the little door.” Yeojin’s eyes widened slightly as she stepped back and gasped. 

“But—how do they….” 

“Beats me. You know anything about a little door?” 

“Uh…if you’re talking about the one in my living room, it’s sealed off with bricks.”

“Ugh. Here they go again spewing up nonsense. Sorry for bothering you, they’ve been a bit more wack lately, but I’ll handle it. See ya later!”

And with another smile, Sooyoung disappeared into her apartment once more. Yeojin stood frozen like a few minutes ago before snapping out of it. She shook her head and like always, there was still a lot going on in her head. Once back in the Kim’s house, she’d asked where Yerim was, in which Jiwoo replied that she decided to go home to take care of her cat and Yeojin understood. A little bit. Within minutes, she was in the Kim’s living room, casually chilling on their couch after delivering Sooyoung’s message to them. She browsed through numerous kids channels and occasionally stopped to play some board games with Jiwoo. Thankfully, Jungeun was too busy to join them because Yeojin figured the couple would just argue again. This seemed strange, to say the least, since they looked very happy together. But Yeojin pushed that thought aside, feeling like it isn’t her business to pry. 

After a while, night soon arrived and Yeojin grew tired enough to fall asleep on the couch in the middle of watching some reruns on Disney channel. Jiwoo cooed at this and placed a blanket on her, as they waited for Haseul to arrive home. Soon enough, the woman finally parked in front of their porch before going downstairs to knock on their door. Jungeun carried Yeojin out on her back and led her up to her bedroom. Haseul thanked the couple for taking the time out of their day to babysit her and Jiwoo was willing to do it again. Back in their house, Haseul reentered Yeojin’s room again to wake her up so she could go brush her teeth and properly for bedtime. The younger girl reluctantly did as told, completing the task as soon as possible in order to finally hit the hay at last. Turning off her lamp, Yeojin snuggled up with her doll and fell into slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are you guys liking the story so far?


	5. Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Omg it's been decades, I'm so sorry this took longer than anticipated, but I have a lot planned for this story so I don't want to give this up. Please do enjoy this update!

Hours passed by and soon, it was the middle of the night. Yeojin had been thinking a lot about today, wondering how the next morning would be if she could talk to Yerim again and possibly apologize about today. Then, only five minutes in, she instantly fell asleep without knowing it. Yeojin was shuffling around in her bed to find a comfortable spot when something was tugging at the blanket. She frowned, rubbing her eyes before opening them. But even then, the darkness remained prevalent as Yeojin couldn’t see a thing. Whatever was in her room was still pulling on her blanket, so she hastily reached over to turn on the nightstand lamp. The last thing she expected to see was a swan yanking the doll away from her grasp. Yeojin gasped in surprise, wondering if it was the same one from last night since it had button eyes. Before she could say anything, the swan took off running downstairs without a hitch once again, prompting her to chase after it. Along the way, she demanded in a hushed voice.

“Give me my doll back, crazy bird!” Yeojin was very close to gripping its wings, but like before, it went inside the little door once again, crossing the dimension. Raising an eyebrow, she carefully approached while having a flight-or-fight dilemma as this turned out not to be a dream after all. She hesitated going further since the first experience wasn’t exactly…normal. Though Yeojin would be lying if she said it wasn’t fun and pleasantly surprising. And that person, she wasn’t even sure if that was truly Haseul or not because they acted a lot like her. Despite this, Sooyoung’s warning combatted that, thus the girl backed away slightly, shaking her head. “No. I shouldn’t.” Yeojin whispered before going back upstairs and locking her bedroom door for the whole night. The swan can keep her doll.

* * *

The next morning was rather hazy as Yeojin, once again, didn’t really get enough sleep since that swan was in her mind all night. She’d told an equally tired Haseul about it, which the woman didn’t believe one bit, until she actually went downstairs to investigate. And to her shock, there was dried, muddy webbed footprints near the small door. Already drained from yesterday’s work time, Haseul didn’t really think much about it and instead made Yeojin help her clean up the mess before going into the bathroom. Minutes later, they were both downstairs eating ramen that the Kims had offered to them for breakfast. And just like the day before, they both babysat Yeojin while Haseul went off to work. Rolling her eyes, the girl arrived to see their apartment door already open, with Jiwoo currently brushing leaves away from the entrance with a broom. Surprisingly enough, Yerim’s cat seated right on her shoulder, enjoying her humming a pleasant tune. They both noticed Yeojin when she began trekking down the stairs, timidly waving at them.

“Good morning, kiddo~!” Jiwoo embraced her out of the blue, leaving the girl frozen in surprise. “It’s getting colder these days, so Jungeunnie made us hot chocolate. Come on in!” Shutting the door, she quickly led Yeojin to the living room as two mugs waited for them on the coffee table. The cat hopped into her lap as she sat on the couch. 

“Wow…” Taking another sip. “This is so good!” The younger girl complimented, making Jiwoo giggle. 

“I know, right? Everything Jungeun makes is always delicious.” 

“That’s cool. Must be nice to have a lot of food to cook.” 

“Honestly, I feel like Jungeun buys a little too much groceries, you know? I can barely fit the cereals in our cupboards!” 

“How much do you have?”

“Twenty boxes, each a different brand.” 

Yeojin nearly gasped aloud. “Why do you need so much for?” 

“I could ask the same to Jungeun, but she just argues that they’re for emergencies.” Jiwoo could only sigh before sipping more of her hot chocolate. “Anyways, I have a fun activity we can try!” 

“Like what?”

“I tell you your fortune!” Both Yeojin and the cat perked upon hearing that.

“My fortune?? You can do that?” 

“Mhm. We always do that for our shows with the audiences, but we’ll make it free for you!” Just then, Jungeun entered right on time before sitting across from the younger girl. 

“We learned how to do it from our mentors back when we were still learning acrobatics and all that circus stuff in middle school.” 

“I see. So you guys are experts at these?” Yeojin asked while petting the cat. 

“Yeah! Had some difficult times along the way, but I got the hang of it eventually.” 

“Alright, to start off, I’ll lay some special tarot cards out so pick only one of them.”

“Ok….” Unsure of what else to say, Yeojin did as told after setting her mug down. When everything was laid out in a neat line, Jungeun waited patiently for her to choose. Afterwards, Yeojin hesitantly handed a card to her without looking. Everyone couldn’t help but feel more anxious when Jungeun looked mortified. The cat, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. 

“What is it??” Jiwoo questioned, despite rushing over to see what her girlfriend was looking at, only to be shocked herself. “Oh my….”

“What? What do you see?” 

“Oh, Yeojin…you’re in serious danger….” Jungeun may have exaggerated too much, but her tone was anything but joking. “It has some sort of spider, like a black widow.” 

“Huh?? Wait, what does have to do with anything?” Yeojin was rather creeped out since she absolutely hated spiders, grimacing even more after finally seeing the card herself, then quickly put it back on the table. 

“Those are always signs of danger because, you know, they’re venomous, scary, horrible to look at. They’re like multiple Medusas.” 

Jungeun rolled her eyes at Jiwoo being overdramatic before reassuring the younger girl. “Don’t worry too much, all you have to do is just get spider repellent.” 

“But shouldn’t we take a more spiritual approach? Like have Yeojinnie wear red to avoid them?” 

“You completely lost me at ‘spiritual’.” 

“Just let me explain!” 

“How about after Yeojin tells us her story.” 

“Huh? What story?” The younger girl frowned in confusion. 

“Haseul said you had some story you wanted to tell us? About two nights ago.” 

“Oh! Yeah, that.” Yeojin didn’t see it, but the cat was listening intently. “I don’t know how to explain it because I’m not even sure if it was a dream.” 

“Ooooh a dream! Was it magical?” Jiwoo asked excitedly. 

“I guess so? In a way it was, but…it was also  _ really _ strange.”

“Strange how?” Jungeun inquired. 

“Like um…I saw Haseul unnie with button eyes.” 

“‘Buttons eyes’??” The couple simultaneously exclaimed in confusion. 

“Yeah, I wish I was lying.” 

“That is pretty strange. Any idea how you had this peculiar dream?” 

“I honestly have no idea.” 

“Hm…interesting indeed. See! I told you there might be a need for spiritual guidance.” Jiwoo lightly smacked Jungeun on the shoulder. 

“But how is that even going to help??”

Aaand here comes another feud. Both her and the cat merely sat there for a minute watching the couple banter back and forth who’s right. Obviously, none of them were going to stick around until the two were done, and god knows when that will be. “Wanna get out of here?” Yeojin asked the feline, who simply nodded her head in return. It was oddly refreshing seeing her so expressive like a human, thus it felt like another person was there. Yeojin wasted no more time before getting up from the couch and exiting the Kims’ house, neither of them noticing. Once outside, she spoke once more. “Ugh, another minute of that and I might just take my ears off.” The cat meowed back, as if agreeing with her. 

As Yeojin was near the front porch, a familiar voice called her name. “Yeojinnie!” 

She turned around and saw Yerim running towards her. “Hi! I was about to look for you earlier.” 

“Oh, I was actually doing the same thing, but I figured you were probably still asleep since no one answered the door when I knocked.” The older girl chuckled. 

“Aw, I’m sorry. Haseul asked the Kims to babysit me again. I just walked out of their argument.”

“Haha I’m not surprised.” While Yeojin nearly swooned over Yerim’s smile, she noticed the cat in her arms. 

“Hey~ there you are! I looked everywhere for you.” She petted the cat’s head. 

“She’s quite sneaky sometimes.” 

“Tell me about it.” 

The feline softly hissed at the teasing before hopping out of Yeojin’s hold, then wandered off on her own. “What were you doing in the garden?” 

“Oh, just checking up on the flowers and crops. Since Jinsol unnie is always so busy, I usually go out here with my sisters to help keep the plants alive.” 

“Ah…b-by the way, I want to tell you something.” 

Noticing the sudden mood change, Yerim raised her eyebrows. “What’s up?” 

“I’m sorry if I went too far yesterday, when I asked you personal questions about your sisters. My apologies in case I made you uncomfortable in any way.” 

“Hey no, no, don’t be sorry. I wasn’t feeling that at all. It just caught me off guard, but it’s totally fine.”

“Alright. That’s good. So how was your morning?” 

“Oh, sort of the usual. Jinsol is finally not working at home all the time and Hyunjin is still sleeping in her room.” 

Yeojin chuckled. “That’s good, I guess. Do you think I’ll ever meet your sister?” 

“I don’t know, it depends on her sleeping schedule.” Immediately after, she felt a sharp pain on her ankle, only to look down and see the cat biting it. “Ow! What was that for??” Thankfully, Yeojin picked her up at a speed of light. 

“Hey, don’t bite people. That’s mean.” 

“Let’s see how you behave when I take you to the vet.”

Yerim teased, which made the cat meow back in irritation. Soon enough, the two resorted to just hanging out in the garden and staying in the gazebo like yesterday. Yeojin avoided asking Yerim about her family, thus they simply talked about whatever came to mind, ranging from summer, school, and how much home life is boring as heck. After a while, the cat decided to scurry off on her own while the girls help each other tend garden chores. As they both had fun planting new flowers, Yeojin was definitely surprised to learn that Jinsol was the manager of her apartment complex, on top of being quite busy with her own workload. Maybe that was why Haseul had been so busy these days, settling down in a new home while also worrying about impressing her new boss. She just hoped all that stress didn’t change her sister more than it already did. As they watered the grasses and plants, that cat climbed up a massive tree next to Yeojin’s house, making it into the roof. Walking around, she didn’t find anything interesting in particular, but something definitely caught her eyes. By the window of Yeojin’s bedroom, there her doll was, sitting on some stool and looking out at the two girls playfully having some water fight by using hoses to spray at each other. The cat was slightly taken aback by its presence, then glared at it, sensing some kind of disturbing,  _ familiar  _ vibe. Obviously, being a cat, there was no way she could notify Yeojin of her suspicions……yet, at least. About an hour later, the girls decided to finally take a break at the gazebo once more.

“That was so funny.” Yerim giggled while the younger girl nodded agreeing. 

“I didn’t think squirrels were that scared of water.” 

“I also didn’t know they astral project into the air when coming in contact with it.” This made them both laugh even more. 

“I wish I could’ve filmed that!” Yeojin ranted on before taking off her mittens and leaned back on the chair. “I bet it’d go viral.”

“Oh definitely, who wouldn’t love seeing a scared, flying squirrel?” The two giggled once more before deciding to head towards Yeojin’s porch to relax. 

“Anyways, I had a lot of fun today.” 

“Me, too. Maybe you can meet Hyunjin someday when she’s not entirely asleep and all.”

“That’s cool. Hopefully that will save me the boredom of hanging with the Kims again. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, but they argue a little too much.”

“You’d be surprised how quickly they make up, only to banter minutes later.”

“How nice.” Yeojin sarcastically said while chuckling. 

Yerim smiled back. “Anything exciting you plan on doing later this week?”

“I hope so. Haseul said she’s going to take me shopping soon, but who knows when that will be.”

“I see. It could be fun! The city has a lot of restaurants, thrift stores, cafes and many more. We should definitely hang there one day.”

“That'd be great! I’m also hoping that school will be decent here?” 

The older girl smiled nervously, but in a comical way, having been to school there before. “…sure. As long as you don’t procrastinate and piss off the teachers.” 

Yeojin slumped immediately. “Ugh, I always procrastinate though.” 

“Yeah, honestly everyone here does. They’re just trying to fix that, but don’t even know where to start, other than yelling at kids then giving detention left and right.”

“Well that’s amazing.” 

Yerim giggled again at her antics. “Also, um…I’ve been wanting to ask you something.” She looked hesitant, but Yeojin didn’t seem to notice, instead gesturing for her to continue. “Did you…h-have any of those night—I mean, dreams? Like the one with the weird eyes.” 

“Oh, no. Not yesterday this time. Fact is, I’m not even sure it was actually a dream?”

“So…did you see anything?” 

“Yeah, for sure. You’re not gonna believe it though.”

“Describe for me then.”

“Well, it’s just so bizarre. I saw this, um…swan? It took my doll with it, so I chased, then ended up downstairs. It entered the little door, but I didn’t follow it inside because Sooyoung told me not to.”

“You met her yesterday?” Yerim raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Mhm. She said that her own swans apparently told her to tell  _ me _ to not go through that little door. Honestly, at this point, I feel like moving out.” 

As more and more of this was being described, Yerim sat there frozen while Yeojin ranted on about last night, not noticing the older girl’s anxiousness drastically growing by the seconds. Then, without warning, Yerim stood up from her chair, startling Yeojin. “I-I’m sorry, I have to go again. I think Hyunjin texted me to…uh—help with lunch…I’ll s-see you tomorrow.”

She didn’t wait for any responses, instead speed walking away from the property like trying to get away from something. Yeojin could only frown in utter confusion and was about to ask Yerim what was wrong, but she was already too far away. The girl pouted, questioning herself like yesterday. However, not much could be done at this point, thus, Yeojin walked back to the Kims’ house again. Upon entering inside, the couple were busy watching some cheesy rom-com on their couch. Jiwoo noticed her first, squealing excitedly before dragging the girl to sit down with them. Even just from sight, the two immediately noticed her sad expression and asked what was wrong, to which Yeojin somewhat told everything, but still kept it vague. Jungeun and Jiwoo glanced at each other before nodding. Shortly afterwards, they both decided to spend the rest of the day uplifting her mood by doing magic tricks, stunts in the living room (let’s all pretend Jiwoo totally did not knock down Jungeun’s favorite action figurine), as well as baking a delicious pie together. Yeojin practically had a ball with them, feeling less sad and more happy than ever. Eventually, Haseul finally came home from work, thus ending the fun for today. There wasn't anything the younger girl could do except head home, have some of her sister’s half-assed dinner, and get ready for bed. But one particular item certainly caught Yeojin’s eye. By the window sill, the doll that’d been taken by that button-eyed swan was sitting right there, simply staring back at her shocked expression. Yeojin didn’t know what to think but wondered how in hell it came back…and who put it there?

Hesitantly, she approached closer and closer, before slowly picking the doll up and examining it. “How did you get here…?” Perhaps, it was about time she and Haseul got out while they still could because things seemed to be getting a little more weird than Yeojin thought. While motioning the doll around, she checked to see if there was anything different. And oddly enough, there wasn’t. But after a few minutes, she noticed a tiny corner of a paper sticking out from the back, before pulling it out: a note. 

_ Hey Yeojinnie! I noticed you didn’t come back last night. I prepared a delicious dinner feast for you and the Kims are planning to put on a magical, acrobatic show for you and your friend. Why don’t you come over and have some fun?  _

_ —Love, Haseul. _

“‘A show’? And ‘friend’?? Hm.” Yeojin pondered for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea going back. And she couldn’t lie; the first time she went there was truly magical, something she hadn’t even dreamed of yet, but definitely attracted her to stay longer. So…what if Yeojin decided to go through the little door again?


End file.
